Neobie, most of the information you show above was essentially duplicative in terms of already known results. however, you did inspire me to look at one route that should have been examined but that I overlooked previously because it's so sneaky:

SantiagoAucklandSydneySingaporeBangkok

The reason why this is sneaky is that no flights leave Sydney for Bangkok before mid-afternoon, so there is a huge layover. However, there are two morning flights from Sydney to Singapore and both should be connectable from LAN801 coming in at 7am after its stop in Auckland. Here is what I mean:

SQ220 SYD SIN 0815 1420TG414 SIN BKK 1530 1650 (or 15 minutes later on departure and arrival, depending on which one you like; both sets are listed on some schedules)

This gets teams into Bangkok to easily make connections into Siem Reap in the late afternoon, such as Bangkok Airways 5901 1720 1840 BKK REP.

We can take that alliteration one step further once we find out that one of the 2 best routes to Dubai is via Doha. That is like the old tinker to Evers to Chance double play combination of the 1908 chicago Cubs - Delhi to Doha to Dubai.

DEL DOH QR233 0500 0620DOH DXB QR100 0755 1000

OR

DEL AUH 9W582 2100 2335 AUH DXB 9W7485 0115 0245

The first is Qatar Airways through Doha and the second Jet Airways through Abu Dhabi.

Apskip, I apologize for not being more lucid. The focus of the post wasn't really about how teams get into Siem Reap, but how long teams could spend at each place, showing the probability that the airport "hinterland" (New Zealand for Auckland, for example) could be the missing leg between Santiago and Siem Reap.

I understand that you're working under the notion that Santiago to Siem Reap is one continuous leg. However, teams would have little problem reaching Siem Reap by Friday night, a long long time for production to drag out in a single city until Tuesday when they leave for Bangkok. The proposal of a "rest day" in Bangkok is sound, but historically I've never heard of production having one outside of the Pit Stops, in the middle of a leg. The Siem Reap Pit Stop wasn't extended either, as we have sightings of racers in action both on Sunday and Monday.

The flights above, therefore, aren't chosen because they are overall quickest, but how long a layover it provides in certain destination cities - how early teams could get into a destination from Santiago, and how long they could stay there (for a leg) before rushing to make their appearance on Tonle Sap on Sunday.

An example - Ho Chi Minh City and surrounds, with its 40h layover, would be a much more plausible location to spend a leg than Hanoi with 20h, which is hardly enough time to run a leg, have a Pit Stop, and getting to and from the airport. This, of course, is working under the assumption that there is a leg in between Santiago and Siem Reap.

On another note, teams arrived in Terminal 2 in Dubai, I think. Qatar comes in through Terminal 1. Jet Airways' 9W7485 is a bus service, not a flight, so it probably wouldn't entail teams passing through airport customs at Dubai.

Could they have taken the direct from Air India? (This schedule, lifted from the Air India website, is also where I got the "apparent two-hour" flight from.)

AI9897: 0750 to 0945AI9895: 2000 to 2155AI747: 2055 to 2245

Ack, airplane kudzu and essay dissertations! I speak too much.

« Last Edit: May 08, 2008, 10:58:51 AM by Neobie »

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neobie, those are all valid flight numbers. The reason that I did not find them on general-purpose airline reservations systems is that they are all filled from May 8 to May 11 except for AI747. The Air India reservations systems will boldly tell you to rebook for May 12 or later. Even then, specific flights are already sold out in fare classes for May 12 and forward. Other reservations will not even acknowledge the existence of those flights if they all fully booked.

I conclude that World Race Productions planners must have reserved lots of seats for the teams and for production way in advance. They did not want a repeat of what happened leaving Maputo in AR11.

I wanted to get a jump on where teams might be going after Dubai. Dubai is really a crossroads of the world and its flight schedules prove that. I have analyzed only the outbound flights north and west, ignoring anything eastbound. I have also ignored local flights to places like Bahrain, Doha, Muscat, or Kuwait. So here goes starting at 2100 local Dubai time, which was a few hours ago:

The one place that intrigues me the most is Cyprus. The flight there (Lampaca) leaving at 0035 goes to an island where the Amazing Race has neve been and is overdue to visit.

There are 129 international non-regional flights shown above. these could go to many different countries directly and making connections in an initial place they could end up practically anywhere in Europe or Africa.

Thanks apskip! I was offline a good bit today and kept thinking--suppose Dubai is just a change planes place?

This gives us a lot to consider.

I would love to see Egypt again but new would also be good!

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"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

That's a lot of places to go to after Dubai. I would eliminate all those cities in Saudi Arabia (can't see our gals running around loose there) and in the troubled mid east (Amman, Damascus, etc.)

Some interesting ones in Africa, but TAR has been to most of them. Harare?

Too early for Europe or return to the States, so eliminate all European and Norh American spots.

That reduces the list quite a bit

Some other new ones: Algiers, Tunis, Tashkent, Tripoli

From what I've heard (or not heard) Jordan's one of the better Middle Eastern countries, and I could see them going there before Saudi Arabia or Syria. Ditto Harare (though Malawi could be interesting).

And I wouldn't discount Europe just yet. TAR4 went to Asia in leg 6, TAR2 went to Asia in leg 5. Many others went in leg 7-8 (TAR1, TAR5, TAR7, TAR9, TAR12), so flipping the direction, a Europe leg wouldn't be unlikely (Azerbaijan, perhaps? There's a direct flight to Baku).

LAX MIA AA252 1355 2142 connecting in Miami with MIA GRU 2330 0830+1 (Note: second to arrive if on schedule)

LAX GRU UA843 1405 1005+1 with a stop in ORD from 2005 to 2132 (Note: third and last to arrive)

4/23This means that the tasks in Sao Paulo will have to take until after noon at the very least and that with a 12 hour pitstop it will be after midnight when teams are released.

4/24 There are numerous 2 1/4 hour nonstop flights from Sao Paulo to Salvador. However, choices are limited to the first 2 daily by virtue of the sighting of teams descending the exterior of the elevator just after 9am on 4/24. Those who were sighted could only be on this flight:

G3 1816 GRU SSA 0410 0625

Later teams could be on G31982 GRU SSA 0735 0950, but they will be quite a bit later to the elevator.

4/25 - 4/28We do not know where teams go next. It could be Fortaleza, Recife, Manaus, Brasilia, LaPaz, Asuncion or elsewhere. It is highly highly likely that there is a REST DAY on 4/30 in the Santiago area.

5/3REST DAY in Siem Reap area (although it could have come one day earlier in Auckland, Sydney, Singapore, or Bangkok)

5/5Siem Reap to Bangkok airportMost probable flights out will be PG904 REP BKK 0950 1045 or PG906 REP BKK 1250 1400 or PG914 1430 1540 although there are 2 more later. The news that there is a known 4 hour layover in Bangkok is interesting.

The first pair has 2 3/4 hours between PG204 and IC854, so that doesn't fit. the second pair has 3 3/4 hours between PG906 and TG315, so that is an excellent fit. the third pair has 2 3/4 hours between PG914 and 9W063, so that doesn't fit. It looks like our flight connection is:

PG906 1250 1400 REP BKKTG315 1745 2045 BKK DEL

Arrival into downtown Delhi would be after 10pm. I am going to guess that they run into an hours of operation restriction fairly quickly.

LAX GRU UA843 1405 1005+1 with a stop in ORD from 2005 to 2132 (Note: third and last to arrive)

Apskip, this flight is highly unlikely. Did you read Peach's report on when teams were spotted at ORD walking to board UA flight 843 to Sao Paulo at about 7:45 pm? You have placed teams on a LAX to ORD flight that does not even arrive to ORD until 8:05 pm. That is 20 minutes after they were spotted walking in the terminal! Not possible.

The only valid options are these two flights originally suggested by Neobie back on page 1:UA 114: 1204 to 1807UA 116: 1255 to 1855

Chateau,You may be right, but you have missed something important. Why would a team select connecting flights when they could be on the plane and flight that is going to Sao Paulo (UA 843)? The very simple probable explanation is that the winds were high and that flight got into Chicago early to account for the sigthing 15 minutes before 8pm.

One thing...we were thinking that PHIL maybe flies out a day early to Santiago on 4/29, leaving the teams at an extended Pitstop.

Teams could still then fly out on 4/30. Looks as though the first of those flights works for Justin's sighting in the airport, but might not work for the arrives in 2 waves thing.

I'll try to reclarify w/him later about exactly where in the airport they were.

And lordie...that's a lot of airport codes to look up! Any chance you can translate as you go for those of us airport code dummies?

« Last Edit: August 16, 2011, 05:45:17 PM by TexasLady »

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"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Chateau,You may be right, but you have missed something important. Why would a team select connecting flights when they could be on the plane and flight that is going to Sao Paulo (UA 843)? The very simple probable explanation is that the winds were high and that flight got into Chicago early to account for the sigthing 15 minutes before 8pm.

No, I didn't miss it. That is my second point: So, what you mean by 'very simple probable explanation' is that all 4 teams that ChristiaanV saw landed in Chicago some time before 7:45 pm on flight 843, got off their plane at Gate 20, walked around the terminal, turned around, and walked to gate 20 at 7:45 pm , and got back on the plane they just arrived on (flight 843).

Quote

*We saw The Hippies, we saw the Blondes in Pink, and we saw what we would describe as two 23-26 year old "Slacker Dudes"*This guy was with... what we were guessing his mom

I knew how to find them--it was just doing the whole list at once that had my eyes spinning!

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"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

LAX MIA AA252 1355 2142 connceting in Miami with MIA GRU 2330 0830+1 (Note: second to arrive if on schedule)

LAX GRU UA843 1405 1005+1 with a stop in ORD from 2005 to 2132 (Note: third and last to arrive)

4/23This means that the tasks in Sao Paulo will have to take until after noon at the very least and that with a 12 hour pitstop it will be after midnight when teams are released.

4/24 There are numerous 2 1/4 hour nonstop flights from Sao Paulo to Salvador. However, choices are limited to the first 2 daily by virtue of the sighting of teams descending the exterior of the elevator just after 9am on 4/24. Those who were sighted could only be on this flight:

G3 1816 GRU SSA 0410 0625

Later teams could be on G31982 GRU SSA 0735 0950, but they will be quite a bit later to the elevator.

Hey, CHATEAU, the jokes on you! Note the date of this posting and focus on 4/24 GRU (Sao Paulo) to SSA (Salvador).

That said, it is not impossible for TPTB to arrange for an earlier Los Angeles-Chicago flight to mess with our racers' heads! Or an overnight bus to Bahia?

I smell burning gasoline! *small voice* Did I venture into Sucks by mistake?

So on the 29th, teams were in La Paz and Phil was leaving Santa Cruz. Is Santa Cruz merely a connection point for Phil to Santiago? (LAN is the only airline flying La Paz OR Santa Cruz to Santiago. Aerosur, LAN Peru and TACA Peru connect La Paz to Santa Cruz. Can't get through to the schedules right now.)

On another note, I've been wondering where the legs fit into South America. What do you guys think?

Premise #1) Seven boats suggest six teams in Cambodia; this means five prior eliminations.Premise #2) There is likely to be one leg between Santiago and Cambodia. (Reasoning in Post #60.)

1) If both premises hold, there are at least four eliminations in South America.

Premise #3) Teams are checked into Bolivia by the afternoon of the 29th and Phil bails.Premise #4) Teams depart in the middle of the night of the 29th, and can only leave the country on the 30th.Premise #5) Santiago airport sightings were at 4-6pm, 30th Apr.

2) No time for an elimination leg between Bolivia and Santiago.

So Santiago is only a connection point for the Far East? But why are the teams dirty and tired? Could there have been a TBC on the 30th?!

Although this is pretty baseless, I've been bothered by the repeat destination of Sao Paulo. Too similar, too soon! Could it very well be the place where teams grab tickets and overnight accomodation, then get shuttled over to Bahia, following the tradition of all previous season premieres (except TAR9, irony huh?). There's still five days to fit in the three following legs:

Leg 1

Los Angeles to Sao Paulo to Salvador

22/23/24/25 April

Leg 2

Salvador to S America

25/26/27 April (speculative end date)

Leg 3

S America to S America

27/28 April (speculative dates)

Leg 4

S America to Bolivia

28/29 April (speculative start date)

Leg 5

Bolivia to Santiago to Auckland to Asia/OceaniaRemote chance of a TBC before Santiago

29/30 April, 1/2/3 May

Leg 6

Asia/Oceania to Cambodia

3/4/5 May

Leg 7

Cambodia to Delhi

5/6/7 May

Leg 8

Delhi to Dubai

7 May onwards

« Last Edit: May 16, 2008, 11:10:14 AM by Neobie »

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